The signs of aging can never seem to escape us: your eyes get puffier, your wrinkles lines extend in length, and the creases at the corners of your mouth deepen substantially. Soon, you remember a friend’s nonchalant remark that you seem to look angry all the time…even when you’re smiling. Perhaps you are angry, both angry and sad that your youthful vigilance has come and gone all too quickly. Thankfully, there may be one treatment available that can offer a boost to your spirits: a recent study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research reported that single treatment of age lines with botulinium toxin A (BTX-A or BOTOX) may alleviate depressive symptoms in patients who do not improve sufficiently on previous medication.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is one of the leading causes of disability, affecting as much as 121 million people worldwide. Although there are various effective treatments available, some patients register unsatisfactory responses to therapy causing their depression to enter into chronicity. Negative emotions such as anger, fear and sadness are prevalent facial expressions in depression that are associated with activation of the corrugator and procerus muscles in the glabellar region of the face. Injection of BTX-A to this facial region has been previously used to inhibit the activity of the corrugator and procerus muscles for the cosmetic treatment of frown lines. Unexpectedly, recipients of this treatment have also reported an increase in emotional wellbeing beyond the desired cosmetic benefit. Specifically, reduced levels of fear and sadness have been observed.

Taking these findings into account, the capacity for BTX-A to counteract negative emotions may also have clinical implications. To explore whether the attenuation of facial psychomotor features associated with depression may produce alleviation of affective symptoms, Wolmer et al. recently conducted a randomized controlled trial of BTX-A injection to the glabellar region as an adjunctive treatment of major depression. Thirty subjects, both men and women were included into the study and randomly assigned to treatment or placebo group. Subjects were included if their age ranged from ages 25-65 years old, had a diagnosis of on-going major depressive disorder according to the DSM-IV, and exhibited moderate to severe vertical glabellar lines during maximum voluntary frowning.

At baseline, the treatment and placebo group did not differ in any of the collected characteristics. However, the treatment group showed a significant improvement in depressive symptoms compared to the placebo group at the 16-week follow-up mark, measured by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D). Even after only one BTX-A treatment at the 6 week mark, BTX-A recipients’ depression scores were reduced on average by 47.1% compared to only 9.2% in placebo-treated participants. The authors concluded that a single treatment of the glabellar region with BTX-A may shortly accomplish a strong and sustained alleviation of depression in patients, although the mechanism of such effect has yet to be elucidated.

Although the mechanisms remain unclear, the authors do not attribute aesthetic benefit as a major contributor to mood improvement as they did not enroll patients into the study who were cosmetically concerned about their frown lines. Notably, treatment response also did not depend on a positive appraisal of the cosmetic change. However, the authors believe that it is possible that a more positive facial expression and improved feedback both from one’s own face in the mirror and from social interaction partners may have contributed to mood enhancement.

What does this mean for the future of BTX-A and its clinical applications? It is possible to extend these findings onto other muscles in the lower sections of the face (e.g. depressor angulis oris and mentalis muscles) and examine any mood-elevating effects. Modulation of mood states with BTX-A may also be effective in the treatment of other clinical conditions involving negative emotions, like anxiety disorders. If true, findings from these studies would support the concept that facial musculature can not only express, but regulate mood states as well.

There are really different types of depressions. This article was talking about depression from wrinkles. Now a days, there are alot of remedies it. There are plenty of aesthetic clinics now that can fix your wrinkles. Botox is one solution for that.

I believe some of the claims about Botox relieving depression are not so much about WHAT the depression is about, but the feedback loop between the brain and the expressions on the face. Most Botox injections are given most frequently for “frown lines” on the forehead. If we understand that signals are not just sent from the brain/emotions to the body, but back from the body (say the forehead) to the brain, then frowning less, may indeed make one feel less unhappy. At least, that is the theory from what I have read. I am not sure that this is true, and certainly there has not been enough research done on all of this. But does smiling make you feel a little better? It’s kind of like that.

Looks can bring on a whole set of mental issues. For instance, viewing yourself as overweight can bring on anorexia. So, I do believe that having wrinkles on your face can truly effect some people. Therefore, masking them with botox would help.

If we look young and beautiful, it gives us a different look in the society. We fell very confident in our life. If there are aging signs appears on our face, it leads to get depressed of it. Botox injection helps to reduce the wrinkles which leads to look younger. If we look younger this leads to fell confident in life and others areas.

Before you’re thinking about getting Botox, make sure you read up further on the procedure and the possible side effects. Botox only lasts for about six months and so do the side effects if you’re experiencing them. Some unkind side effects of Botox may be: nausea, respiratory infection, flu syndrome, eyelid and forehead drooping and swelling at the site of injection, with mild bleeding.

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Amy Wong, MS, is a medical writer and conducts traumatic brain injury research in a large academic institution. She holds a Master’s of Science from the University of Toronto under the department of Pharmacology. Her studies pertained to the selective field of neuropsychopharmacology examining the biological implications of post-stroke depression.

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